JROTC STUDENTS COMPETING WELL

Wednesday

Dec 11, 2013 at 10:18 AM

Connie DuvallMMI Reporter

Sgt. Maj. Darrell Tucker and Lt. Col. Kurt Dulle lead the Moberly School District Junior Army ROTC Program, which began early fall 2013.

The first student-led JROTC Spartan Battalion event in Moberly was on Sept. 11, at the Moberly High School entrance. Many were impressed with the way the young new cadets handled themselves with such a short time to train. The Color Guard is a lot of work, but it is a great honor to present National Colors for home football games, student assemblies, and other high-profile events, such as for the Moberly Area Chamber Banquet.

No one said it was going to be easy. Students have to obtain certain grades and adhere to certain hair styles and grooming standards.

Academic Team Captain Hannah Briggs, a freshman, explains that there are two separate active teams: the six-member Academic Team and the four-member Leadership Team.

Freshman Cadet Private Alex Delp shared that her mother had heard about the program.

"I thought I would give it a try," said Delp.

Cadet Private Jeremiah Sharpes stated, "I always wanted to be in the military. This is a step. It can help my career later."

Cadet Private Tommy Aird said, "I thought it would be interesting, and it looks good on a college application."

The six-member Academic Team consisting of Briggs, Delp, Sharpes, Aird, Christina Williams (the only sophomore on the Academic Team), and John Clark have advanced to Level 2, which is quite an accomplishment, since they compete against not only freshmen, but sophomores and juniors. They were recently notified that they finished in the top 25 percent of all JROTC teams in the country, and will be advancing to the next level of competition. JLAB Level 2 will be conducted Feb. 1-15, 2014. If the team does well and advances to Level 3, they will travel to Washington D.C., in June 2014, and will compete against the top teams in the country during the national championship.